Is it time to “decriminalize drugs”?
Tuesday, November 15th, 2005
By Chris Fitzsimon
Last 5 posts in Your Soapbox
- Misc payment - March 6th, 2008
- For Blueprint Partners ONLY, A Class With The Master of Messaging - January 25th, 2008
- Campaign contributions - December 16th, 2005
- Open forum - November 3rd, 2005
- Garbage - October 26th, 2005
Email This Post
Print This Post
November 15th, 2005 at 11:22 am
per the SBI statisticians, a pretty good chunk of the drug related arrests for 2004, were for marijuana possession. This has gotta cost the taxpayers of NC a chunk of change in terms of police time, to enforce this prohibition against a plant that, unlike the lethal leaf, tobacco, has never killed a sole.
I say lets legalize cannabis, allow it to be sold in coffee shops like they do in Holland and increasingly in British Columbia, and tax and regulate it. Alcohol prohibition only lasted 13 years, before we came to our senses and realized that all the stupid law prohibiting alcohol was doing was subsidizing organized crime.
November 15th, 2005 at 4:02 pm
Legal marijuana. One more tool of the power elite to keep the underclass stoned, hopeless, and in their place.
November 18th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Fortunately, anyone who uses alcohol, marijuana, or other substance, has complete control over their use of it. If they choose to spend their money on these substances, then they are agreeing that they are content with their status in society. The “underclass” is not the only group of people who may enjoy the use of marijuana.
November 19th, 2005 at 11:54 am
I work for the Department of Correction and was a school board member for 15 years. There are too many of our young people doing a lot of time for drug offenses when they need drug rehab. Prison is not the place to give it too them. It’s too expensive on the taxpayer. If we don’t help them with their drug problem what do you think will happen when they get out of prison? Thank you Mr. Mitchell for saying what needs to be said.
November 21st, 2005 at 2:36 pm
Those who use alcohol, marijuana, or other substances have complete control over their use of it? Wow, you learn something new everyday. I wish my grandfather had known that he had complete control; I might have actually gotten to know him before it was too late. Same for my uncle.
You know, now that Benjamin has set me straight, I can’t help but feel angry at those guys for pulling my leg for so long. Imagine, pretending to have a ‘dependency’ on these substances, when really they had complete control all along. Well, I guess it’s too late to do anything about that, since they both drank themselves to death already, but by God there’s no reason to keep funding all these expensive addiction recovery programs and making excuses for these obviously lazy bums who would rather get drunk or stoned than hold a job, since they really have complete control of the situation.
Thanks for clearing things up, Benjamin!
November 26th, 2005 at 2:48 pm
Thank you for having the guts to say what’s needed to be said for years now. I have a nephew in Federal prison doing ten years for a nonviolent first offense for conspiracy count -one for drug offense.(selling marijuana) I was SHOCKED to see the types of people doing hard time for drug offenses, mind you, they’re doing more time than child offenders, rapist, etc. It’s insane and out of control. I totally agree that what we’re doing is not working, some big changes need to be made. I know where my votes during election are going…To the ones brave enough to admit there is a BIG problem with the “War on Drug” system the nation has. Again, Thank You Mr. Mitchell!! Sincerely. Windy Short
November 28th, 2005 at 10:10 pm
Hey Windy, ya know what? There is no such thing as a non-violent drug offense. People who sell (or ‘conspire to sell’) that garbage ARE child molesters, and they deserve every day they spend in prison. Wake up! The ‘kind of people’ who are doing time for selling drugs are the kind of people who destroy other people’s lives for their own profit.
Toss ‘em in jail and throw away the key. Better yet, bury ‘em under the jail and throw away the shovel.
December 6th, 2005 at 1:16 pm
Here is a link to a provocative article by the former chief of Police in Seattle, WA, Norm Stamper. He says its time to legalize drugs, all of them!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002661006_sunstamper04.html
December 7th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
I understand that the Chief of Police of Singapore makes an even more compelling counter-arguement.